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Home , Aitchison College, Baradari (brotherhood), Bhai Ram Singh, History of Lahore, Lahore Museum

Research papers | Artículos de investigación | Artigos científicos

Shajeea Shuja, Rabela Junejo

Appropriating Indo-Saracenic style: ’s contributions to the architectural identity of 19th century Apropiación del estilo “indo-sarraceno”: La contribución de Bhai Ram Singh a la identidad arquitectónica del Lahore del siglo XIX Apropriação do estilo “indo-sarraceno”: Contribuições de Bhai Ram Singh para a identidade arquitectónica de Lahore do século XIX

Keywords | Palabras clave | Palavras chave

Colonial , Jeypore Portfolio, Contextualization, Identity Politics, Revivalism

India colonial, Jeypore Portfolio, Contextualización, Política identitaria, Revivalismo

Índia Colonial, Jeypore Portfolio, Contextualização, Política de Identidade, Revivalismo

Abstract | Resumen | Resumo

After 1857, when India became a direct colony of the British Crown, was the architectural style adopted by the colonial masters an attempt at subverting the local identity and reasserting their supremacy via architecture or was its purpose to engage their institutions with their context? Was the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture anachronistic and reductive in nature or was it a way to draw on the past? What role did the Jeypore Portfolio play in negotiating colonial intent by appropriating traditional building culture? How did Bhai Ram Singh mediate an identity for 19th century Lahore by contextualizing Indo-Saracenic architecture? This exploratory study attempts to answer these questions using existing literary sources and by considering buildings designed by Bhai Ram Singh in the of Lahore. The paper also critically evaluates the agency of the Jeypore Portfolio for Indo-Saracenic architecture, how it reduced the centuries-old local building tradition to a limited palette of details, and Bhai Ram Singh’s attempts to re-inform it from the native’s perspective.

A partir de 1857, cuando la India se convirtió en una colonia sujeta al control directo de la corona británica, ¿fue el estilo arquitectónico adoptado por la potencia colonial un intento de subvertir la identidad local y reafirmar su supremacía a través de la arquitectura o era su propósito integrar sus instituciones en el contexto? ¿Tuvo el estilo “indo-sarraceno” una naturaleza arquitectónica anacrónica y reductora o se trataba de una forma de inspirarse en el pasado? ¿Qué papel desempeñó el Jeypore Portfolio en la negociación de las pretensiones coloniales mediante la apropiación de la cultura tradicional de construcción? ¿Cómo propició Bhai Ram Singh una identidad para el Lahore del siglo XIX al contextualizar la arquitectura “indo-sarracena”? Estas son las preguntas que dieron lugar a este estudio preliminar, en el que se utilizaron las fuentes literarias existentes y se analizaron los edificios proyectados por Bhai Ram Singh en

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la ciudad de Lahore. En el artículo también se hace una valoración crítica de la intervención del Jeypore Portfolio en la arquitectura “indo-sarracena”: cómo redujo una tradición constructiva centenaria a una paleta limitada de detalles, y los intentos de Bhai Ram Singh para darle forma desde la perspectiva autóctona.

Depois de 1857, quando a Índia se tornou uma colónia directa da Coroa Britânica, terá este estilo arquitectónico sido adoptado pelos mestres coloniais numa tentativa de subverter a identidade local e reafirmar a sua supremacia através da arquitectura, ou terá sido o seu propósito o de envolver as suas instituições no contexto? Será o estilo de arquitectura “indo- sarraceno” anacrónico e redutor por natureza ou foi uma forma de tirar partido do passado? Que papel desempenhou o Jeypore Portfolio na negociação da intenção colonial através da apropriação da cultura tradicional de construção? Como mediou Bhai Ram Singh uma identidade para Lahore do século XIX ao contextualizar a arquitectura “indo-sarracena”? Foram estas as questões que conduziram este estudo exploratório, utilizando as fontes literárias existentes, tendo em consideração edifícios concebidos por Bhai Ram Singh na cidade de Lahore. O artigo também avalia criticamente a acção do Jeypore Portfolio na arquitectura “indo-sarracena”, como este reduziu a tradição centenária de construção local a uma paleta limitada de detalhes, e as tentativas de Bhai Ram Singh de lhe dar uma nova forma a partir da perspectiva dos nativos.

Introduction Research Methodology

This paper investigates the links between “Indo-Saracenic” This paper adopts a purely qualitative approach to architecture and the ideology of “orientalism” as one of understand the colonial architectural the hegemonic cultural tools employed by the British and the works of Bhai Ram Singh, by reviewing the during their colonial rule in India. For this purpose, the existing literature. It contributes to the knowledge of his paper reviews the historical and contemporary literature work through first-hand on-site data collection on four to understand this aspect of European adventurism in of Bhai Ram Singh’s projects and the production of their India and of the emergence of the British as the sole respective drawings. The agency of theJeypore Portfolio for colonial power in the region. Unlike their contemporaries, Indo-Saracenic architecture and Bhai Ram Singh’s attempts the British used multiple “soft tools” to establish their to re-inform it from a native perspective are also critically rule in India. Among other administrative matters, the analysed and evaluated, as well as its subsequent impact on most significant hegemonic attempt to support their the architectural identity of Lahore. “civilizing” project was to introduce “Indo-Saracenic” architecture. This style, which for a time served as the official architecture of the Raj in India, was a fragmented British in India: A Brief History adoption of the native Indo-Islamic architecture. In the hands of Colonial designers, who depended on the The British, like the French, Dutch, and the Portuguese, Jeypore Portfolio, it often produced caricatural results. first came to what we now call the Indian subcontinent However, there are more successful examples too. Under for trading purposes and “obtained permission to trade in the aegis of individuals such as the native artisan Bhai Ram India from [the Mughal ] in 1619” (Bose Singh, who understood and respected the ordering and and Jalal 1998: 34). Gradually the Company proportioning system of traditional Indian architecture, started expanding its trading network, and the declining this style produced buildings that left an indelible mark on power of the in the 18th century provided the architectural landscape of like Lahore. This paper the British officials with a perfect opportunity to establish discusses Bhai Ram Singh’s attempts at re-informing the their hold over the Indian Territory. After the 1757 military Indo-Saracenic from a native perspective. The pivotal role victory at the (Bose and Jalal 1998: 41), Bhai Ram Singh played in shaping 19th century Lahore’s the Company, by 1765, had gained a grant of the Diwani architectural identity is also discussed. (right to collect taxes) in three (Hashmi and Shuja 2020: 32).

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Over the following century, the British emerged as the modern, and industrialized enterprise (Said 1978). sole territorial power in India, eventually establishing an During European colonization, there was a real urgency “elaborate state apparatus” (Bose and Jalal 1998: 53). The to understand the colonies in order to establish hegemony British had little or no information about the country over them (Porter 1994; Stone 1988). The same was the they were expanding their rule over (Metcalf 1994: 44). case with colonial hegemony over India, which, however, This lack of knowledge, coupled with a state apparatus was not a straightforward “enforcement”. implemented in India by the Company leadership, created widespread mistrust and discontent and led to the rebellion Post-1857 British Colonials, while establishing themselves of 1857 (Metcalf 1994; Metcalf and Metcalf 2006). As a in India, were also in the midst of legitimizing their control direct consequence, the Company was dissolved in 1858, over the Colony. Reflections of this legitimization or their and India became a direct Crown colony and thus began an “civilizing mission” were apparent in every sphere of their 89-year period (1858 - 1947) that came to be known as the rule, be it political, educational, linguistic or in the areas of (Fig. 1). art and culture (Hashmi 2020; Hashmi and Shuja 2020; Baucom 1999; Mann and Watt 2012; Metcalf and Metcalf 2006; Metcalf 1989; Metcalf 2005). Fig. 1. British In India Echoes of this hegemonic behavior reverberate, for example, in their linguistic policies. Muhammad Uzair Hashmi makes a strong case for the linguistic shift in his paper “Linguistic Colonization: A Comparison Between the British in India and the Soviets in Central Asia”, pointing out how the British employed “soft tools” instead of “coercion” to implement English as an official language The Reflection of Colonial Culture in India (Hashmi 2020: 225).

Colonial rule in the “oriental” Indian subcontinent can The British “Orientalist” sociological construct of India, be read as a classic case of contestations, dialogues, as a land of timeless traditions where religion alone had appropriations, reconciliation, and bipolar tensions meaning, was also reflected in their outlook towards the between the “occident” and the “orient”. While creating architecture of the land, incomprehensible when viewed the East as an indigenous, traditional, and non-industrial from the framework of European architectural principles entity, the West, in turn, asserted itself as a progressive, (Arora 2010: 8). For this reason, the art of building also met with their “civilizing” attitude. Virtually unaware of Fig. 2. Top: 17th century buildings in Lahore: Sardar Jahan texts such as the Vastu Shastra and Shilpa Shastra, that (Left), and (Right); Bottom: 19th century buildings in delineated the principles that formed the basis of traditional Lahore: elevation and detailing, by Bhai Ram Singh Indian Architecture, the British did not understand the (Left), and King Edward Medical College, designed by W. Purdon, Superintendent Engineer PWD (Right) ( Archives)

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clear and precise logic of Indian buildings (Arora 2010: British architects in general were divided between those 7-8). They rejected the various distinct architectural styles who advocated the Palladian/Neoclassical or the Gothic recognized by multiple British scholars, especially James styles. While they wrestled with the idea of an appropriate Fergusson, who identified thirteen distinct “Saracenic” style for ; this conflict was accentuated in the styles that corresponded to various “ethnological” and Colony, where the supporters of the “Indo-Saracenic” style political divisions in India (Metcalf 1984: 41). The formed a third alternative (Mann and Watt 2012; Stamp Colonists, based on their dogmatic belief in the centrality 1981). As the style lent itself to the meshing of distinct of religious identity, reinforced the idea of only two types of “Hindu” and “Saracenic” forms, it suited the aims of the traditional architecture in India: “Hindu” and “Saracenic”. British, the “self-proclaimed masters of India’s culture”, This Colonial attitude towards Indian architectural heritage who could thus “shape a harmony the Indians themselves, laid the foundation of an idiosyncratic style of building, the communally divided, could not achieve” (Metcalf 1984: so-called “Indo-Saracenic” style, that was pre-eminently 49-50). Thus, the British adopted the style to legitimize “Indian in appearance but Western in function” (Metcalf their rule and connect themselves to the natives of the 1982) (Fig. 2). colonized land (Metcalf 1989: 48).

Indo Saracenic Style and Jeypore Portfolio: Recasting of the Native Architecture Fig. 3: Sheets from the Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Details, by Swinton Jacob. Clockwise from top: Part I – Copings, Plate 5; Part II – The idea of appropriating and inserting the local Pillars, Plate 18; Part III – Doors, Plate 17; Part IV – Brackets, Plate 12 architectural elements, motifs, and decorations into the (for Part I & II: https://archive.org/details/dli.venugopal.414, for Part III & buildings of the Raj had been advocated since the late 18th IV: https://archive.org/details/dli.venugopal.415) century. As already mentioned, this idea was developed into a distinct style, called “Indo-Saracenic” in the work of Robert Fellowes Chisholm (1840-1915) in Madras. The style, meant to shape “India’s conception of its own past” (Metcalf 1982), came of age with the publication of six large volumes on Indian architecture. The volumes, published from 1890 to 1913, brought together 375 plates of large-scale drawings of architectural elements taken from an array of North Indian buildings, built between the 12th and the 18th centuries (Metcalf 2005: 174, 1982). The volumes, titledThe Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Details, were compiled by Swinton Jacob, the Jaipur State’s English engineer, under the patronage of the Maharaja of Jaipur (Bowe 2011; Baucom 1999; Mann and Watt 2012; Metcalf and Metcalf 2006; Metcalf 1989; Metcalf 2005; Jacob 1890).

Jacob, like other Colonists, was dismissive of the principles elucidated in the ancient Hindu architectural treatises. These were centuries-old principles that had been appropriated by the Mughals to form an architectural language that infused the Timurid building tradition with the Hindu building tradition, hence were still in practice in 19th century India (Krusche et al. 2010: 158). Instead, Jacob saw Indian architecture and building crafts as two separate practices, and like most Indian arts and craft aficionados, “concentrated solely on the ornamental aspects of Indian architecture” (Arora 2010: 7).

The structure of theJeypore Portfolio is reflective of Jacob’s concept, whereby the architectural “details” were grouped by function rather than chronologically or by region of origin. Jacob wrote in the preface that the volumes were meant “chiefly as working drawings for the architect and artisan” so that the intended designer might use the various features, “so full of vigor, so graceful and so true in outline,

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and so rich in design”, in modern buildings (Jacob 1890). Lahore: An Urban Palimpsest The intended use of thePortfolio was in line with how it was edited, as the drawings were “arranged together in parts - The city of Lahore, located on the east bank of River Ravi, is each sheet loose - so that different examples of architectural ’s second-largest metropolis (Fig. 4). Although the details may be compared, and selections readily made” exact beginnings of the city are untraceable, the discovery (Jacob 1890) (Fig. 3). Jacob not only advocated this of “Indo-Bactrian coins” in the region is indicative of a fragmented use of the architectural heritage of India, but settlement in the locality between “mid-300 BC to the 2nd also applied it in his buildings. Edwin Lutyens, the builder century AD” (Peck 2015: 2). of New , visiting India for the first time in 1912, scathingly remarked that Swinton Jacob’s buildings “are all Lahore was a Hindu principality until the incursion of made up of titbits culled from various buildings of various Mahmood Ghaznavi in 1022 AD (Walker 1894: 269, Latif dates put together with no sense of relation or of scale” 1892: 1). The city gained widespread prominence after it (Metcalf 1984: 61). became the imperial capital during the reign of the Mughal Emperor , in 1584 (Glover 2008: 6) and in the early The use of thePortfolio by British architects as a catalog of half of the 17th Century was at the peak of its splendor(Latif ornamental and decorative patterns while willfully ignoring 1892: 54). In fact, travelers from the period favorably the aesthetic, proportional, structural, and symbolic order compared Lahore to Constantinople (Glover 2008: 8). of any period of India’s past provides a revealing insight into the way the Colonists perceived India’s traditional As Mughal power started to wane, the city was subjected to architecture. It can therefore be argued that “Indo- periodic raids and was pillaged by invaders (Walker 1894: Saracenic” architecture represents an anachronistic and 283). In the early 19th Century, established a fragmented adoption of native Indo-Islamic architecture, (1799 – 1849) in Punjab, and after his death unlike the Gothic revival and Palladian-Classical styles, in 1839, the British capitalized on the “splits in Punjabi whose principles the Colonists understood and respected, society and polity” (Bose and Jalal 1998: 51) and officially and until 1857 were the preferred styles for colonial annexed Punjab in 1849. building in India. After annexation, Lahore became the capital of the British Furthermore, and following the edict of the day, local artisans . The British initially garrisoned in an area south were trained in modern skills of drafting, documenting, of the walled city, later known as “Civil Station” (Qureshi and in some cases, even designing, and Jacobs proudly 1997: 71), and commandeered the monumental buildings acknowledges the educational and “civilizing” aspect of “from the Mughal and Sikh periods for new administrative his endeavor. However, the writings of the period ascribe and social functions” (Glover 2008: 18). While the old almost all buildings designed in the Indo-Saracenic style to fortified city was left mostly unaltered, any building in Colonial engineer-turned-architects like Robert Fellowes the “Civil Station” not appropriated by the British was Chisholm, Henry Irwin, Charles Mant, William Emerson, ransacked and destroyed for its building material. George Wittet, Frederick W. Stevens, and Swinton Jacobs, with minimal mention of native contributions.

Fig. 4: Lahore in its regional context, showing the location of Pakistan in Fig. 5: Spatial relationship of Mian Mir Cantonment with the Walled City reference to the world

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Fig. 6: Lawrence Hall (Left) and Montgomery Hall (Right) conjoined by a hallway and built in Neo-Palladian style (Punjab Archives)

As early as 1851, the British constructed a grand boulevard, arrived in Lahore in 1875 that the debate on a suitable style The Mall, that connected the “Civil Station” to the newly for the architecture of the Raj received a fresh impetus. established cantonment at Mian Mir (Goulding 1924: Kipling, inspired by Lahore’s heritage and a desire celebrate 30) (Fig. 5). However, only after the events of 1857 did local sources, began training native students like Bhai Ram the British truly set about creating a new spatial order Singh, who played a crucial role in shaping the city’s “Indo- for Lahore. It was by then that a transformative wave of Saracenic” identity. urbanization took over the city.

The earliest example of a purpose-built Colonial building, The saga of Bhai Ram Singh the railway station built in 1859, was a “castellated structure” that looked like a medieval fortress (Latif 1892: Bhai Ram Singh, born in 1858, came from a community 287). Other examples of early prominent landmarks from that was renowned for its carpentry skills (Fig. 7). Being this period include: the Lawrence Hall (1861) and the a hereditary craftsman, he had attained considerable Montgomery Hall (1866), built in the “Neo-Palladian style skill before joining the Lahore School of Carpentry as a of British country houses” (Bryant 2020: 5) (Fig. 6); the student. In 1875, the Carpentry School was incorporated Government College (1873) and the Lahore Cathedral into the newly established Mayo School of Industrial Arts, (1887), built in Gothic style; and the General Post Office and Singh became a member of its first batch (Vandal and (1887), that combined a Palladian façade with baroque Vandal 2006: 126-127). His innate design talent soon domes (Latif 1892: 286). brought him to the notice of the Principal, , who, in his 1875-76 report, wrote: “Amongst the Early colonial Lahore was thus a mélange of architectural most promising students may be mentioned (…) Ram styles, and it was only after John Lockwood Kipling, a Singh of the School of Carpentry” (Vandal and Vandal strong proponent of the Indian Arts and Crafts movement, 2006: 127).

Kipling, who sought to integrate European Art theory with a thorough study of the extant Indian heritage of art and architecture, viewed the School more as an atelier. Hence the students were involved in the “ornamentation of

Fig. 7: Bhai Ram Singh at work in the Darbar Hall (NCA Archives) Fig. 8: Teachers and students of the Mayo School of Art, 1880: Seated from left to right: Bhai Ram Singh, John Lockwood Kipling, and Sher Muhammad 7 (NCA Archives) 8

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several public works projects and elite residences” (Dutta identity and of the people who made them (Glover 2008: 2007: 74). This integration of theory and practice was 91). the cornerstone of Kipling’s philosophy of art education (Vandal and Vandal 2006: 118) (Fig. 8). His career at the College was capped when he was “appointed Vice-Principal (of the school) in 1896 and Bhai Ram Singh participated in all the practical work served several times as officiating Principal” (Peck 2015: that the School was commissioned to do, and as Kipling’s 161). In 1892 Kipling referred to Bhai Ram Singh as “our protégée, he was given every opportunity to carry out most accomplished architect” (Bryant 2020: 7). original work (Vandal and Vandal 2006: 127). Although Singh’s initial work was mostly in furniture and interiors, The four projects discussed here reflect Bhai Ram Singh’s he carried out his first architectural project, i.e., the design career progression and the maturing of his ideas as he of the new building for the Mayo School, under Kipling’s carried out more commissions. supervision in 1881 (Peck 2015: 161). Singh stayed on at the School for eight years as a student and then joined it as Mayo School of Industrial Arts () an assistant drawing and carpentry master (Bryant 2020: 7). Mayo School, established in 1875, got funding for the construction of its new premises on The Mall from the The School’s systematic and rigorous training and Kipling’s Mayo Memorial Fund (Latif 1892: 274). In 1881, Bhai mentorship provided Bhai Ram Singh the opportunity to Ram Singh, still a student at the School under Kipling’s grow beyond his traditional training as a carpenter and supervision, designed the new building that “shall be of achieve a deeper understanding of architecture and design plastered brick and Saracenic in style” (Bryant 2020: 6). (Shuja 2018: 35). He often worked in conjunction with The school “built in the late Mughal Style” (Department Kipling, and together the two collaborated on the design of Education 1911: 168; Latif 1892: 304) owes its overall competition entry for the Aitchison College (1885) and design to the close-by Wazir Khan’s baradari (open the design of the (1889). The duo also pavilion) (Bryant 2020: 6). designed the billiard room and hallway for His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught’s home, Bagshot Park, At the time of its construction, the brick-faced School in England (1885–87) (Glover 2008: 90). Moreover, Singh building comprised three wings wrapped around an open worked on a commission from Queen Victoria herself, courtyard with the partially double‐storied north wing for “a room in the ‘Indian’ style” (Dutta 2007: 74), now facing the Mall. A veranda ran all along the building’s inner known as the Hall, at Osborne House on the Isle side to protect the rooms from the harsh summer sun, while of Wight (Fig. 7). According to Arindam Dutta (2007: 74), large windows were placed on the northern side to bring in the job was “delegated to and executed by Kipling’s trusted the north light (Department of Education 1911: 168) (Fig. assistant and successor, Bhai Ram Singh”, who traveled to 9). Kipling also had a kiln built within the school premises England in 1891 to oversee the construction of the Hall (Glover 2008: 90). Fig. 9: Ground Floor Plan of the Mayo School of Industrial Arts Bhai Ram Singh’s contributions to the public architecture of Colonial Lahore also include projects such as the Lady Aitchison Hospital for Women (1886-87), the Prince Albert Victor memorial wing added to the Mayo Hospital in 1890, the boarding house of Government College (1889–1904), the Punjab University Senate Hall (1905), the Main Building and Infirmary of the Queen Mary College of Lahore (1910), as well as the chatri at Charing Cross for the bronzed seated statue of Queen Victoria, now in the Lahore Museum (1902) (Vandal and Vandal 2006: 244 -248; Bryant 2020: 8).

He also applied his design skills to projects that went beyond the confines of British interests, such as the Dayanand Anglo Vedic College in Lahore (1886) and his most critically acclaimed work, the College in Amritsar (1892). Singh’s use of Hindu sources for the design of the former and Sikh sources for the latter (Bryant 2020: 8) was not a rejection of Kipling’s teachings but rather a sign of a growing belief that buildings were reflections of cultural

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, were among the finest examples of carved and molded brickwork (Khan 2014: 84) (Fig. 10).

The building, completed in 1883 (Latif 1892: 304), was the first public building on The Mall built in the “Indo- Saracenic” style. It largely remains unchanged today partially because of the decision to leave the red brick exposed, unlike the Mughal buildings, which were rendered with plaster.

Punjab Chiefs’ College Lahore (Aitchison College)

In 1886 an India‐wide competition was announced for the design of the main building of the College (Vandal and Vandal 2006: 169). A total of 29 anonymous submissions received by the selection committee were narrowed down to two: Justicia for its “unusually pleasing and graceful” Fig. 10: Mayo School of Industrial Arts building, designed under the elevation and Non nobis solum for its efficient “ground supervision of J. L. Kipling. It was the first major architectural work by Bhai Ram Singh (NCA Archives) plan and general arrangement of buildings” (Glover 2008: 72). The first scheme was jointly conceived by Bhai Ram Singh and John L. Kipling, while the second was from “to direct terra cotta as the future decorative material for Swinton Jacobs, the author of the famous Jeypore Portfolio official buildings in the Punjab” (Bryant 2020: 8). of Architectural Details (Glover 2008: 72; Bryant 2020: 7; Vandal and Vandal 2006: 172). After much deliberation, Singh used his skills and knowledge of details to humanize it was decided that Jacob’s plans were to be adjusted to the scale of the exposed brick surfaces by using molded accommodate the elevations and architectural features of ornamental bricks and terracottajalli work (latticework) the scheme submitted by Singh and Kipling (Fig. 11). in the arched veranda openings. The building façades were subdivided into panels, and the plinth, cornice, sill, and The main building included the main hall, a library and lintel levels were accentuated using intricate brick detailing. reading room, a science laboratory, a playroom, a theatre The ornamental embellishment continued in the roofline, or speech room, and classrooms along with offices (Latif where turrets and chatris, based on Hindu temples and Sikh 1892: 297). The composition appeared as a three‐tiered building with the centralized hall, like a church nave with tall neo-Gothic clerestory windows (Bryant 2020: 7). 11 Rows of classrooms formed the second tier and the veranda completed the composition. Octagonal turrets based on the Sufi shrine in (Bryant 2020: 7) and surmounted by domes marked the central block’s comers, and the domed octagonal tower at the center of the building featured a large bronze clock manufactured in England (Glover 2008: 72). The central dome had a composition of smaller domes around it to control the proportioning and visual effect of the composition. Other design sources include the pre- Mughal chatris, the Mughal-inspired jalli work, shallow- relief patterns in the brickwork and the marblejharoka

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Fig. 11: West Elevation of Aitchison College’s Main Building (Punjab Archives) Fig. 12: South Elevation of Aitchison College’s Main Building (Punjab Archives)

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(overhanging enclosed balcony). The exposed red brick The new building, when it opened to the public in 1893, façade, with its elaborate brick detailing, reflects the finesse was referred to as “an ornament to the city” (Department of woodcarving which was Ram Singh’s forte (Fig. 12). of Education 1911: 166). At the opening, the building committee president stated that the building was “wholly The “Indo-Saracenic” style of the main building with its designed in the School of Art and principally by Bhai Ram “picturesque mélange of ‘oriental’ and ‘Muhammadan’ Singh under the superintendence of Mr. Kipling” (Bryant features that worked together to evoke an ecumenical ‘Indic’ 2020: 8) (Fig. 14). building” (Glover 2008: 72) is in complete consonance with the genesis of the College, linked to the “civilizing The Museum housed in the eastern wing was accessed mission” of the Raj. through an intricately carved white marble entranceway, while the western wing, approachable through a separate Lahore Central Museum and Technical Institute Lahore entrance, included a Lecture Hall, a room for storage of (Lahore Museum) glass slides and for the preparation of gas for the lanterns, and two additional rooms that were used by the School of The origin of the Museum and the Technical Institute Art for repoussé and blacksmith classes (Department of can be traced back to the first Punjab Exhibition of 1864, Education 1911: 166). The Museum originally had three and its aim was to develop and promote the arts and display areas, besides the three-storied vestibule and a industries of the Province (Latif 1892: 273). A building in library, an office, and a salesroom for the “objects of Punjab the “English Belgian Gothic” style (Bryant 2020: 4) was art workmanship” (Latif 1892: 273) (Fig. 15). hastily constructed on The Mall to hold the exhibition. After the exhibition, the building became home to Lahore The exposed red brick Museum building, with its Central Museum, and from 1875 it was also Kipling’s place composition of cupolas, was crowned with a 70-foot- of work. In his dual role as the curator of the Museum high dome that resembled a stupa (Peck 2015: 160). The and the Principal of Mayo School, Kipling encouraged building façades were subdivided into panels and the the amalgamation of the two institutions (Chaudhry plinth, windows, and the parapet were highlighted through 1998: 271). The School, constructed a decade earlier, was the intricate use of ornamental and molded bricks, while connected to the purpose-built premises of the Museum chatris and cornices were used to accentuate the ends of the and Technical Institute via a carriage portico. They became building. “indeed part of the same architectural composition” (Latif 1892: 274) (Fig. 13).

Fig. 13: Lahore Museum, 1938 (Punjab Archives) Fig. 14: North Elevation of the Lahore Museum Fig. 15: Spatial Configuration of the Lahore Museum in 1929

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Punjab University Senate Hall

In late 19th century Lahore, the “civilizing mission” of the Raj, which extolled Western education as the symbol of progress, led to the establishment of many institutions. A Punjabi middle class emerged from them, which disproportionately held sway in public life. One such institution, which allowed entrance to this middle-class milieu, was Punjab University, established in 1869 (Glover 2008: 80). In 1905, Punjab University commissioned Bhai Ram Singh to design the University Hall, which was to be used for University convocations and examinations Fig. 16: Punjab University Senate Hall (Punjab Archives) (Department of Education 1911: 45). The foundation stone records Bhai Ram Singh as the architect of the building, attached to both its east and west ends and surrounded and, according to Pervaiz and Sajida Vandal (2006: 109), it by a two-storied verandah on all sides (Department of is the only example from the colonial era “where a building Education 1911: 45; Vandal and Vandal 2006: 212). In has been credited to the native architect” (Fig. 16). 1935, two wings were added at the eastern and western ends, which gave the building its current U-shape (Fig. 17). The Senate Hall building, designed in the “Mughal Style” (Department of Education 1911: 45), stands across the For the façade, Bhai Ram Singh created a compositional Mall from the Lahore Museum and the Mayo School. masterpiece by employing the same vocabulary that he The building, with its generous setback from the road, had developed for the Khalsa College’s main building in had a centrally placed portico and vestibule. The building Amritsar (Vandal and Vandal 2006: 213) (Fig. 18). consisted of a large main hall with double-storied wings For the building’s central vestibule, he designed a 65-foot- tall domed tower that proudly featured a large clock, Fig. 17: Spatial Configuration of Punjab University Senate Hall a prominent symbol of British technology, while the Fig. 18: South Elevation of Punjab University Senate Hall verandahs on either side of the tower were embellished with wooden balustrades and terracottajallis in the multi-foiled arched openings. He highlighted the eastern and western wings as well as the corners of the buildings by increasing their height and capping them with domed chatris, as well as by adorning them with jharokas supported on sandstone brackets. Additionally, for this highly articulated façade, Singh created a textured brick surface by employing different sized bricks in conjunction with ornamental and molded bricks.

Bhai Ram Singh Mediating an Identity for the City of Lahore

The projects discussed above place Bhai Ram Singh, passingly mentioned in Colonial writings, as one of the key players in transforming 19th century Lahore. Disassociating Kipling’s role in molding Singh and directing the Arts and Crafts movement in Lahore would be injudicious; however, negating Singh’s contributions towards mediating an identity for Lahore is also unwarranted.

As pointed out earlier, Colonial and later writings show that the British were by then strong advocates of the “Indo-Saracenic” style, especially for the public buildings that were to be used by the natives. However, in Lahore, the beginning of the “Indo-Saracenic” style is marked by the arrival of Kipling in the city and the Mayo School’s collaborative design by his mentor and protégé Bhai Ram Singh.

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Furthermore, and as mentioned above, although Kipling While debating the identity for 19th century Lahore, the was aware of the potential of Lahore’s brickwork, he favored scales further tilt in favor of Singh when one looks at the stucco plaster and fresco work of the Mughals. Therefore, his independent commissions, especially after Kipling’s it can be argued that the exposed and ornamented brick exit from Lahore’s scene in 1893. Projects such as the details that Singh applied to his architecture were his idea Punjab University Senate Hall and Library buildings, the and consequently led to the evolution of the Lahori Indo- Queen Mary College, and the Dayanand Anglo Vedic Saracenic. This argument further gains strength when one College in Lahore and the Khalsa College in Amritsar considers his hereditary background in carpentry and his carry a distinctive imprint of Bhai Ram Singh; expressed proclivity for teasing out of brickwork the carved texture both through the masterful use of exposed brick, and via of wood. their geometry, proportions, and ornamentation. These buildings are not only a testament to the growing acumen Another accomplishment of Singh, a native artisan, was of Bhai Ram Singh as an architect, but also to his belief that his command over proportions and geometry. He was buildings should be representative of the cultural identity skillfully able to reconcile the needs of Western building of both the people and the place. typologies with traditional elevations by treating them as a compositional whole, something the contemporary Bhai Ram was an aesthete, a term reserved only for the British working in India were mostly incapable of. This British during colonial times, and his encounter with claim is further supported by the images of two 19th century Kipling probably only strengthened his capabilities. buildings seen side by side in figure 2: the elevation of Aitchison college designed by Singh (bottom left) appears Echoes of the Lahori Indo-Saracenic style, which has its as an euphony of the central dome and smaller cupolas roots in Bhai Ram Singh’s work, still reverberate today and perched at the center of the main façade, and the eye can be seen in all the contemporary public buildings and flows from the higher point to the lower in a triangular even the residential architecture of Lahore. composition. Purdon façade for the King Edward Medical College building (bottom right), with its high corner domes, high ogee arched niches, slightly Gothic-esque, framing the Conclusion fenestration, and the subordinate central entrance lacks the graceful flow of elements which is a trademark of traditional The “Indo-Saracenic” style propagated in the Colony was Indian architecture. These therefore reveal a native the British way of letting the natives know that they, the mediating the “Indo-Saracenic” style while maintaining natives, were incapable of reconciling themselves with the traditional aesthetics of proportionality, compared their own heritage. This idea is refuted by studying the to a British attempt to combine multiple elements, but works of Bhai Ram Singh, who was able to go beyond this failing to articulate them as a proportioned whole. It can be Indo-Saracenic style and avoid producing a mere caricature argued that the British, who were not convinced that order of Indian architectural heritage. His knowledge of the and proportioning systems existed in India’s traditional ordering and proportioning system, inherent to traditional architecture, took immense liberties in taking fragmented Indian architecture, is visible in the compositional strength elements and pasting them wherever they saw fit, supported and ornamental details that he applied to his exposed brick in this task by Jacob’s Portfolio. buildings. His work un-substantiates the Jeypore Portfolio, which propagated the use of traditional building elements If one attempts to postulate a comparison between Jacob as mere ornamentation, a concept diametrically opposed and Singh, both working under the Indo-Saracenic dictum, to the traditional ordering system of architectural details. their approaches appear different too. Jacob kept an upper Furthermore, his buildings are proof that inspiration from hand dictating the terms and conditions of applying the the past can respect the architectural order in its entirety heritage that the British were apparently salvaging. On without fragmenting it. the other hand, Singh, while working within a colonial system, used his own local knowledge to grow beyond Is Bhai Ram Singh then an anomaly, a singular instance the Indo-Saracenic style as practiced by the British. in the history of British rule in India? Although there This argument further gains credence when one looks were other innately talented people like him, they were a at the aforementioned anonymous design competition meager handful who left their mark on the Indian Colonial for Punjab Chiefs College, where the façade entry of an architecture and, in Singh’s case, on the Lahori landscape. unknown native artisan (Singh) was favored over that of a They transcended the Indo-Saracenic style, brought their well-known British architect working in the Indo-Saracenic local skill and knowledge to light, and left the British style. As the competition was anonymous, it’s reasonable with no choice but to acknowledge their prowess, with to assume that the façade that appealed to the selection miserly undertones. This assertion is supported by the fact, committee offered compositional clarity and proportional mentioned in this paper and stated by Pervaiz Vandal and harmony and was considered to be more in tune with the Sajida Vandal (2006), that the foundation stone recording traditional architecture of the land. Bhai Ram Singh as the architect of Punjab University Senate hall is the only instance where a native was credited

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with designing a Colonial building. However, the question Metcalf, Barbara D.; and Metcalf, Thomas R. 2006.A Concise History of remains whether Bhai Ram Singh’s architectural approach Modern India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. in the 19th century should be called “Indo-Saracenic”, or Metcalf, Thomas R. 1982. A Tradition Created: Indo-Saracenic whether the time is ripe to re-appropriate the nomenclature Architecture under the Raj. History Today, vol. 32, 9. th and free the 19 century Lahori architecture from the Metcalf, Thomas R. 1984. Architecture and the Representation of shackles of residual Colonialism. Empire: India, 1860-1910. Representations, 6: 37–65. Metcalf, Thomas R. 1989.An Imperial Vision: Indian Architecture and His legacy continues, and the red exposed brick architecture Britain’s Raj. Berkeley: University of California Press. th of today’s Lahore still somehow re-evokes the 19 century Metcalf, Thomas R. 1994.Ideologies of the Raj, vol. 3, 4. 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